Pew Poll: Proud to Be American? You're Probably Not a Liberal

RUSH: An interesting little piece here from the Pew Research Center. If you are proud to be an American you are probably not a liberal, is the upshot of the Pew Research Center poll. There are two noteworthy results in this poll. Most solid liberals are not proud to be an American. And, B, most solid liberals are elitists.

So the idea of transforming the country into something radically different from its founding and the president assuming near dictatorial powers would be A-OK with the base of the Democrat Party. And I'm not surprised by this. I've said this before. I intellectually understand people who have problems with this country, but I don't understand people that hate it. I know they exist, and I know why. I know what liberalism does to people, and I know that some people have grievances, you know, African-Americans, some of them have grievances. They're raised and still to be thought of as slaves and so forth. I understand how that can be made to happen, how people can be talked into hating this country. And that's what the left does.

But the other half of me, how can you hate the greatest place on earth for human beings? How can you hate it? It just isn't normal. And these are the people, by the way, who run around, "It's not good to hate anyone, Mr. Limbaugh. We got too much hatred and racism and bigotry," but they proudly hate the country. You know, their hatred, that's justified.

"Michelle Obama took some heat in 2008 for saying that, 'for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country...' As it turns out, that sentiment isn't all that unusual on the far left of American politics. According to a new Pew Research Center study, only 40 percent of consistently liberal Americans say they often feel proud to be Americans."

The other 60% say that "proud to be an American" does not describe them. Sixty percent of liberals are not -- (interruption) I know, I can't relate to it, either. I understand it, I mean, intellectually, not emotionally. It doesn't mean I concur. I understand how they can be talked into it. I understand how they can be educated into hating. I can understand, but when you strip all of it away, if you have any ability to independently think and compare and contrast, if you have any ability at all, if you're curious -- I mean, how can you look at Cuba and think it's better? How can you look at North Korea or China and think it's better? But they do.

And even highly educated liberals back in the fifties and sixties thought the Soviet Union was utopia, or utopia in the making, and despised the United States. It just isn't normal. Now, I'm gonna get into trouble for that. "That's right, Mr. Limbaugh, because who are you to decide what's normal? What do you mean, what's normal?" And I know that people look at it this way, but it does not compute. Sixty percent of American liberals say "proud to be American" does not describe them.

"They're miserably unhappy. They're not proud. They're embarrassed or they are angry. They're probably angry and embarrassed. They're not proud. The finding is contained in Pew's new 'Political Typology' report, which breaks Americans down into seven different categories -- rather than the usual three. Among the seven categories, 'solid liberals' are the only group in which a majority say they aren't regularly proud to be Americans. By contrast, more than seven in 10 'steadfast conservatives' and eight in 10 'business conservatives' say they are generally proud to be Americans.

"The poll also shows many liberals don't liken themselves to your average American. Just 51 percent say they feel as though they are 'typical Americans' -- as compared to three-quarters of conservatives and at least two-thirds of all the other groups."

So the conservatives are thought to be these racist, sexist, bigot homophobic outliers oddball freaks and kooks, and it turns out that 75% of conservatives and two-thirds of all other groups think that they are typical. They're average, ordinary typical Americans. Liberals, 51%, ain't no way they're typically American. It's embarrassing. They don't approve of typical Americans, and they're not proud.

By the way, you see evidence of this everywhere there are liberals. You see it in the news media. You see it in Congress. It's right out there in front of everybody to recognize and acknowledge. And here now is survey data where they admit it. It doesn't require me or anybody else telling you they do not like this country. They've just admitted it. And if they don't like the country, they're gonna approve of anything that upsets whatever they think they don't like about it. So if they think the country's too white and too wealthy and that's why they hate it, then they will welcome what's happening in the Southern border and they will welcome massive tax increases and they will welcome redistribution.

The thing is, getting none of what they want ever makes 'em happy. They never end up being proud, even after they get everything they want. They've got the first African-American president. He is doing everything he said he was gonna do. He is tearing down all the old institutions and traditions which define this country's greatness. They ought to be happy as clams, and they still are miserable. They never end up happy. And they never end up proud of being Americans. And that's why they sit around and support all of these things that constitute attacks on the heart and soul of the country.

"Part of the difference in the new poll, undoubtedly, is that Pew drills down a little more to highlight differences between true liberals and other liberals who might not be as consistent. Pew's definition of 'solid liberals' comprises just 15 percent of the American population -- a much smaller group than just 'liberals' or Democrats."

Now, why do you think they're doing this? I think the adults at Pew recognize, "Wait a second. This does not look good, 51% of solid liberals are not proud to be Americans." They can't have that data. So they subdivide liberals into three different kinds. They don't do that with conservatives. They're two different kinds, solid and everyday, run-of-the-mill, or solid and business conservatives. With liberals, it's only 15% of the American population. Different levels of bitterness. Different levels of disgust and dislike for the country. And that's why Pew has to create three different liberal categories in order to lessen the impact.

Can you imagine if they stuck to their guns and divided liberals the way they do conservatives and had to report that it was much more than just 15% of the American population which is not proud to be American? So they recognize the damage herein.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Yeah, I just went back to the archives just to drag something out. The Pew Research study on liberals not proud to be Americans. And by the way, it seems to me that if so many liberals do not feel like normal Americans, then it sort of proves our perception of them is accurate. They're elites, think they're better than everybody else. They thumb their noses at everybody. They look... (interruption) Right, they look down on people. They think they're superior and that most Americans are a bunch of unsophisticated know-nothings.

In their arrogance, these people are probably proud. They'd look at it as a positive that they don't think they're like most Americans. They are special. And that's why so many of 'em take fact-finding trips to other states to find out what the real people live like. You know, liberals try to relate and so forth, try to understand. So in a sense there probably not gonna be that much sadness or unhappiness or even anger at the Pew survey. But it reminded me of a Harvard study. We had this back in 2011. It was in US News & World Report.

The headline: "July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing -- Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day." Remember that? It also reported that the flag also had the same effect on people. The flag made people patriotic. It turned people into Republicans. But Democrats resent the flag being waived around.

And remember when Tom Brokaw decided to put on an American flag pin?

The left gave him grief!

They thought he was selling out and pandering.

BREAK TRANSCRIPTRUSH: Here is David in Columbus, Ohio. You're next on Open Line Friday. Hi.

CALLER: Hi. Thanks for taking my call, Rush.

RUSH: Yes, sir.

CALLER: I want to go back to the first hour where you were talking about the poll and they were asking Democrats whether they loved this country or not, and --

RUSH: If they were proud, if they were proud Americans.

CALLER: Oh, proud of their country. Okay. The question I always would want to ask to segue into that is, "Okay, if that is the case, then what country are you currently looking to move to?" and if they're not, then they're choosing to live in their own misery. One thing about miserable people, at least I've discovered, is they like being and congregating other miserable people.

RUSH: Oh, yeah!

CALLER: So you get this big pot of things you really don't want to go take a look at or swim in.

RUSH: Man, that is so true. The miserable find each other. It's true of a lot of different groups of people who find each other. The ugly find each other. But, look, I shouldn't drag them into it. You're right. Let's just stick with the miserable. They find it and they live in it.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: It just becomes more intense, and they get even more negative and pessimistic about things.

CALLER: Right. And if they're saying that, then would they be willing to say that to President Obama?

RUSH: Well, you see, Obama... If you want to call it the brilliance, this is the brilliance of Obama is he's got all them convinced he's trying to fix all of this stuff that's making them miserable. He's trying to fix the reasons they're not proud of America.

CALLER: Yes, but... You know, I guess in some ways be we should be proud of the Mexican people. I mean, they live in a miserable place and we know it and they know it. But at least they're trying to do something about it and get themselves to a place where they have better opportunity and a better way of life, through action.

RUSH: Well, it is a dichotomy, because on the one hand the place that these people admit they're not proud of, everybody else in the world wants to come here. And these good liberals offer them sanctuary in many places. But, no, they're never gonna leave. They're never gonna leave 'cause... (sigh) I don't have to time to get into the genuine psychological analysis of these people, but you're on to something. They're never gonna leave. Even when they claim to, they're never gonna leave. I don't think they're capable of contentment, much less happiness, for a whole host of reasons. David, I appreciate the call. I really do. Thank you much.